


tell me otherwise.

by worstgirl



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Essay, Gen, In what world is jeremy heere a slytherin, Y’all are cowards, character essay, i literally wrote an essay about why he’s not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 01:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21779377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worstgirl/pseuds/worstgirl
Summary: i got fed up with people saying jeremy is a slytherin and i wrote an essay about it. i have facts, man.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 22





	tell me otherwise.

Although many people in the Be More Chill fandom believe that Jeremy Heere would be a Slytherin, there’s a significantly larger amount of evidence that he is, in fact, a Hufflepuff rather than a Slytherin, due to his thoughts and actions both pre, during, and post-SQUIP. He definitely showcases many more traits of Hufflepuff house, which sometimes overlaps with Slytherin, which could be the cause for the confusion. However, it is also influenced by his attitudes during the time he has the SQUIP.

As some of you may know, the canon values of being a Hufflepuff include: hardworking, dedication, loyalty, fair play, and drive, whereas Slytherin is shown to be cunning, sly, ambitious, shrewd and strong self-preservation instincts. Of these, Jeremy showcases many more of the Hufflepuff traits. His dedication to hard work is shown in the very first scene, during More Than Survive. He dedicates his time to making sure he survives high school, even creating his own rules. Although he still has a wish to be popular, he settles for just, as he puts it, ‘surviving’ and makes that his main goal, working as hard as he can to just keep himself on the down low. His dedication is showcased throughout the show, even if it is sometimes misguided. It is shown first in More Than Survive, where his dreams to be with Christine outweigh his negativity towards signing up for the play, and he does sign up for the play to get closer to her. He also keeps trying his best to get her to notice him, despite her repeated rejections. Especially prior to the SQUIP, even when Christine ignores him in favour of Jake and his flirting, he still does try to talk to her again. His dedication to his goal is only influenced and heightened due to the SQUIP, which some people interpret as being ambitious. While these two things are very similar, they are where Hufflepuff and Slytherin house overlap. 

The main reason that people believe Jeremy is a Slytherin is due to his treatment of Michael, which they say does not showcase loyalty to his peers. However, it is important to note that the majority of his supposed disloyalty towards Michael is after he takes the SQUIP and his motives and beliefs are swayed by its control. However, his loyalty is shown primarily at the beginning of the show, and hinted at during the end. During the scene prior to Michael in the Bathroom, Michael states that their friendship has lasted almost twelve years. This is a long time for a friendship, even by adult standards, especially since they stayed best friends since they were around four years old, assuming they are either sixteen or seventeen. However, that is not enough evidence, as they are also shown to be losers, which could possibly make them less likely to make other friends. Even more evidence is shown during Two Player Game and the beginning of Do You Wanna Ride. During Two Player Game, Jeremy states that they will always be a team, showing that he does intend to be loyal towards Michael. Although Michael expresses discomfort that Jeremy may be too cool for him, he reassures him. Even at the beginning of Do You Wanna Ride, Jeremy’s first thought is immediately of Michael, who he intends to meet up with, even if he did take the SQUIP. His loyalty towards him is only swayed when the SQUIP states that Michael had already left without him, making him believe that it was Michael who was disloyal rather than him. Looking at it from a different perspective, Jeremy is also loyal to a cause, and, however selfish that cause may be, he still is dedicated and works hard towards his goal of becoming popular.

Jeremy also shows the trait of fair play. In the original script, he tells Michael that he will split the squip with him if he wishes, saying that they both should benefit, as Michael helped him to get the pill. However, Michael still says that he shouldn’t, but Jeremy’s sentiment still remains. The one trait of Hufflepuff house that Jeremy doesn’t portray as visibly is hard work, although this can be shown, again, through his dedication to becoming popular. Jeremy’s initial attitude towards the SQUIP shows, if anything, a lack of ambition. While he paid a lot of money to obtain the SQUIP, he doesn’t seem to be ambitious enough to change at first, and continuously asks questions as to why he’s doing what he’s doing. He does, however, show a remarkable amount of drive just by getting the SQUIP, although the drive is remarkably short lived. He also is driven to confess to Christine in the mall, but he is, in fact, derailed, which doesn’t show a lack of drive, but more of a difference of fate. 

Additionally, to combat those who state that Jeremy is a Slytherin, we must look at Jeremy’s attitudes before and after he gets a SQUIP. Before then, he is shown to be awkward, unambitious, and, quite frankly, a terrible liar. Actually, he doesn’t seem to lie much, as he actually seems to be remarkably open with Michael. While this may be due to their close friendship, he also tries to lie to Christine about being nervous about play rehearsal and, quite frankly, miserably fails, although she doesn’t seem to notice. He doesn’t seem to be at all cunning or sly, at least until he takes the SQUIP. While an argument could be made towards him being cunning due to the fact that no one seems to call him out on his awkward lies, it must be said that he isn’t really good at it. His ambition doesn’t really show itself much, except for when he decides to take the SQUIP. 

While an argument can be made for Jeremy being a Slytherin, his Slytherin traits are more significant when they’re influenced by the SQUIP. He is more likely to lie and connive under its influence, whereas, for the most part, he is a Hufflepuff when not being controlled by the SQUIP. 

**Author's Note:**

> instead of doing my homework a while ago, i wrote this. y’all are probably the same people who think evan hansen is a hufflepuff.
> 
> i do take constructive criticism but i won’t be swayed from my opinion.


End file.
